Battle of Celysan
The battle of Celysan city was a conflict occurring after the slaughter of the Genesis wars. The region of Ventosa, no longer under imperial influence, had fallen to a variety of warlords, mayors and self appointed princes. General Artorius Song, having lost a large portion of his army and having been forced to wander Ventosa with a small company of his legion, knew he needed to capture the city from the self appointed noble if he hoped to survive and return him and his men home. The city of Celysan, one of Ventosas largest and most prosperous cities, had been seized by a disenfranchised noble named Nather Brettenlohe. Having been exiled by the imperials for criminal activity, lord Nather had resorted to banditry, before finally returning to the city with a retinue of guard and the desire to keep Celysan free from imperial influence. The conflict was relatively small as both forces were skirmish sized, but the conflict is renowned for its brutality, and the heroic leadership of several notable commanders on both sides of the battle. Prelude Main conflict 24th of May, 1228 City of Celysan Celysan city has been taken over by a gang of bandits, headed by one named Nather Brettenlohe. The gang mostly consists of military defectors from the Kingdom of Arestia, but the group has been ravaging the local farms and has finally taken hold of an imperial city. The empire will not forget this easily. Dispatched quickly, General Artorius Song has lead a small company of 10th Legionaries who were stationed in the colony of Aralan. Unable to wait for reinforcements, the general is forced to attack now. If he is beaten, Celysan may be established as a 'free' city for the remainder of its days, with the empire's pride shattered. 11:00 AM The Kreedian's seized the initiative, striking quickly up the forested south west. Seeing their advance, the 4th company of Callum Reyes fired upon the imperial 3rd greatswords. While broken at first, captain Urnst Vendelian quickly rallied his forces, preparing to assault the walls. 11:30 Infuriated by the quick advancement of the Kreedians, captain Callum Reyes capitalised on the Imperial's lack of organisation concerning siege ladders and ordered his men fire repeatedly on the enemy. The volley of fire over the next half an hour killed 81 men in Madranian Khael's unit, leaving them broken. Khael rallied his men however, steeling their nerve and maintaining order. 12:00 PM The company of Callum Reyes is assaulted on both sides by imperial forces that quickly respond to his fire. Charging the walls under a hail of arrows, the companies of captains Papirus and Vendelian assault the tower within which his archer company holds itself. While they hold their ground, Reyes orders a retreat into the courtyard, only to find it blocked off by other bandit forces. They await their fate in the courtyard. Captain Khael's company rallies itself. 12:30 More imperial forces begin to scale the walls. Vendelian's company advances down the tower into the city. Melee breaks out between Vendelian's greatswords and Reyes' rangers, as well as Mastan Helasar's halberds and Celira Stutali's pikemen. No clear winner can be seen in either melee. 1:00 The 2nd imperial Halberds of Captain Helasar quickly advance on the enemy phalanx of captain Celira Strutali. The imperials take more casualties, but break the enemy formation. Terrified, the force of captain Reyes attempt to make a tactical retreat, breaking the formation of the 3rd pike unit behind them. Despite these setbacks, Lord Nather rounds past his battle lines, rallying his units before their broken formation works against them. The Arestians rally, prepared for the oncoming slaughter. The melee between the companies of Strutali and Helasar heat up, with both sustaining more casualties and their formations becoming vulnerable. The 3rd Arestian pike of Gordun Smither counter charge the Greatswords of Vendelian, hoping to catch them by surprise. 1:30 Smither's charge huge failure. Casualties are average but the weight of the Kreedian attack breaks his unit's morale. They retreat, crashing into the 1st Pike as they retreat. Imperial forces continue to capture more of the wall. General Song orders the 1st Halberds to prepare for a flanking attack further into the city. The 2nd Halberds of Helasar reform in the melee, hoping to take more of a footing against the Arestian pike. The 3rd Greatswords of Urnst Vendelian push into the city, capitalising on the chaos in the Adrian Sensa's regiment. The 5th shields reform behind them in preparation. Sensa's pike quickly reform in response to this attack however. Seeing the new formation of the Kreedians, captain Stutali reforms her own regiment as the combat continues. 2:00 Melee on wall reaches climax. Kreedians sustain more casualties, but are inspired by their officer, pushing Arestians away and causing them to flee. Melee between 3rd Greatswords and 1st Pike results in medium losses for both and a break in formation. Artorius song climbs wall and rallies melee in the streets, rushing to his men to help them. 3rd greatswords and 1st pike both reform. Nather Brettenlohe joins Land Malastin's 2nd pike in preparation for a flanking charge the Kreedians did not predict. 2:30 Arestians seize initiative. Matrim attempts to rally the 3rd Pike but fails to encourage them to stay. Nather launches the flanking charge against Urnst Vendelan's company. Brettenlohe's charge is hugely successful. While the greatswords of Urnst Vendelan fought hard, killing many of the pikemen that charged them, they were utterly slaughtered, with each man fighting to the death. Vendelan is slain. Saul Papirus' shields, counter charge Malestin and Nather, seeking revenge. 3:00 The melee between Papirus and Nather is brutal. The Kreedians lose nearly half their men, but are able to break through the Arestian phalanx. The Arestians lose a moderate amount of men as well, and Nather is temporarily injured by a blunt blow to the head. He is dragged behind lines but quickly prepares to return to the fold. Both units break formation in this onslaught. Having fled across the canal, the company of Gordun Smither finally listens to their captain's orders, and rallies, hearing the slaughter in the distance and the inspired 2nd pikeman chanting 'NATHER!' 3:30 As the company of Land Malastin chants with renewed passion, the Kreedian line reforms in the chaos, with captain Papirus restoring the line of battle. Artorius Song rallies with the 4th greatswords of Lord captain Madrian Khael in preparation for a second wave of attacks should the 5th shields fail. Over eager to prove himself, Land Malastin pushes the attack further, hoping to crush the shields before Artorius reinforced them. His push is not hugely successful, with both sides taking minor casualties and the Arestians losing formation. While Nather recovers, he is able to give off some basic commands, rallying his own unit and preparing a phalanx with the 1st pike to defend their rear. 4:00 Artorius attempts to plan a counter attack to breach the well defended street that Nather had formed. Fully recovered, Nather pushes his men against the shields of the Kreedians, slaughtering over 130 of them. Despite the onslaught however, captain Papirus and his men remain firm in their defence, although their formation is shattered in the melee. Matrim, capitalising on their broken state, rallied his men for another attack, cutting down the last remaining Imperial shields that stood their ground. Captain Papirus was slain. Nather's decicive actions had left Artorius and his officers stunned, allowing him to push past the slain legionaries and towards the general himself. The 1st Pike advanced in phalanx towards the Kreedian phalanx-ed 1st Halberds, preparing for a backstreet melee between captains Adrian Sensa and Artan Scipinius. Matrim charged towards Artorius and his 4th greatswords. Captain Khael of the Kreedian Empire prepared a defence alongside the general. The phalanxes on the backstreet clashed. 4:30 Despite his impassioned charge, Matrim Cauthon's unit was taken by surprise when Artorius rallied his men and led them into battle. His entire unit was whiped out by the inspired Kreedians, with his pikemen only inflicting minor damage on the imperials. Nather fell to his knees, injured and surrounded by the corpses of his countrymen. The phalanx battle was less successful for Kreedia. While the Arestian unit was injured, they were able to push against the Kreedians, cutting down more than they lost. Captian Scipinius was injured, and without their commander, the Imperial 1st Halberds began to flee. Artorius Song personally advances, cutting down Lord Brettenlohe himself, leaving him for dead on the field of battle. With Lord Nather's death, the forces of house Brettenlohe surrendered to the Kreedian Empire, and Celysan was once again under the imperial banner.